Telescope sight mounting



Dec. 28, 1937. F. A.,KUHN 2,103,539

TELESCOPE SIGHT MOUNTING Filed Nov. 27, 1935 Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT FFECE Frederick A. Kuhn, Meridian, Conn, assigncr to The Lyman Gun Sight Ccrporatien,

Middlefield, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application November 27, 1935, Serial No. 51,805

'7 Claims.

My invention relates to a telescope sight mounting and in certain aspects to a mounting for hunting types of telescope sights. The latter are usually provided with vertically adjustable reticules, by means of which vertical alignment of the sight with the point of impact of the rifle is effected, lateral or windage alignment being effected by lateral adjustment of a part of the mounting in which the telescope is supported on the rifle. In some instances provision has been made in the mountings for both vertical and lateral adjustments, thus avoiding the use of adjustable reticules in the telescopes. The present invention relates to a mounting in which provision is made for both vertical and lateral adjustments and one of the principal objects thereof is to bring about a form of mounting in which these adjustments may be more readily and accurately brought about than heretofore possible.

Another object of the invention is to bring about a form of mounting for telescope sights in which the telescope together with the major portion of'the mounting may be readily removed from the rifle, or other firearm on which it is used, in order that the rifle may be conveniently packed in a gun case, or the like, and so that the usual metallic sights of the rifle may be used alone.

In a more specific aspect it is an object of the invention to bring about a form of mounting in which the telescope together with the mounting,

including the mechanism for effecting vertical,

and lateral adjustments, may be freely detached from and reassembled on the rifle.

A feature of the invention resides in a form of detachable mounting in which the mechanism for effecting vertical and lateral adjustments is protected against accidental change when the mounting is detached from the rifle.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, of the improved mounting attached to a rifle;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the improved mounting Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mounting shownin Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end view, taken from the right hand end as viewed in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of an attaching plate, forming a part of the improved mounting;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the plate shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 'l is an end view taken from the right hand end as viewed in Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along line Iii-til of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along line Hll of Fig. 2;

Fig. 12 is a sectional View taken along line l2-i2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a view of the underside of a knob forming a part of the improved mounting;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a click spring forming a part of the improved mounting;

Fig. 15 is a front elevation of the click spring shown in Fig. 14, and

Fig. 16 is a perspective View of a part of the improved mounting to be hereinafter described.

Referring now to the drawing, in which I have illustrated my invention by showing a preferred embodiment of the same, the reference numeral 29 indicates, in general, a rifle, herein of the bolt action type, having metallic front and rear sights 2! and 22 and a receiver 23, on the barrel ring 24, and bridge 25, of which, the improved mounting 25 is received, the mounting supporting a telescope sight 2?, of any usual or preferred type.

The mounting 26 includes a generally flat longitudinally extending normally vertical fixed plate 28, which in use is supported on the rifle or other firearm by arms 29 and 25a, integrally formed with respect to and extending inwardly at right angles to plate 28, at the opposite ends thereof. The arms are milled at 39 (Figure 7), to fit the curved surfaces of the receiver of the rifle or the like, and are secured thereon by means of screws 3|, which pass through the counterbored arm openings 32 and 33 and are threaded in the receiver.

The plate 23 is on the left side of the rifle, when looking towards the muzzle, and forms a rigid support for the vertically adjustable lower base 3 5, which in this instance is L-shape in cross-section and provided with a flat vertical arm 35, seated against the outer surface 36, of the plate, the lower base having an arm 31, extending inwardly over the plate 28, at right angles to arm 35, both arms being co-extensive in length with plate 28. Lower base 34 is pivotally mounted on plate 28, by means of pivot screw 38, threaded in plate 28 in opening 39,

near the forward end 45 thereof, and having a cylindrical stem 4|, closely fitting and received in an opening 42, in arm 35, near the forward end thereof. The distance between the head 43 and shoulder 44, of screw 38, is such that when the screw is threaded tightly into plate 28, the shoulder 44 contacts therewith to space the head 43 a sufiicient distance to hold the arm 35 tightly against the outer surface 26, of the plate 28, but permitting pivotal movement on the cylindrical stem 4! of the screw 38.

Vertical swinging movement of the lower base 34, and thus vertical adjustment of the telescope sight 2?, is brought about by adjusting screw 45, having a stem 45, mounted in the rear end 41 of the arm 37, of lower base 34, the lower or threaded end of the screw 45 being threaded into a nut 48, of cylindrical shape, which is received in a cylindrical opening 49 in plate 28, the plate 28 being cut away above the opening 49, as at 58, to provide clearance for the screw 55. The upper end of screw 45 is reduced to form the cylindrical stem 46, and a shoulder 5!, the shoulder fitting against the under side of the arm 37, while the stem 46 extends upwardly through the arm 31, through click spring 52, and into screw head or knob 53, in which it is secured by means of a set screw 54, threaded in the head 53 and spotted into stem 46. The cylindrical nut 48 is of a length substantially equal to the thickness of plate 28 and is provided at its ends with flat faces, one of which, indicated by the reference numeral 55, bears against the inner surface 56, of arm 35, while the other face is substantially flush with the inner surface of the plate 28.

Movement of screw 45, in arm 37, in the direction of its axis is prevented, in one direction, by shoulder 5i, and in the other direction, by head 53, bearing against click spring 52, which is mounted on the upper surface of arm 3? and secured against movement by screws 51 and 58, threaded into arm 37. Preferably the click spring 52 is provided with elongated openings, in which the heads of screws 51 and 58 are received, so that the spring 52, which is normally arched as shown in Fig. 15, may be flattened during the assembly of the mount to provide an upward thrust on the head 53 and to cause the rib 59, of spring 52, to enter the radial grooves 68 in the under side of the screw head 53 (Fig. 13).

Mounted on the fiat normally horizontal upper face 6|, of arm 31, is horizontally adjustable elongated upper base 62, the forward end of which is pivotally attached to arm 31, by means of pivot screw 63.

Screw 63 is similar to screw 38 and is provided with a cylindrical stem 64, which is mounted in and closely fits an opening in the upper base 52, screw 53 being threaded into arm 3'! and having a head 65 spaced at such a distance, from shoulder 55, that the upper base 32, is held tightly against the upper surface of arm 31, while permitting pivotal movement therein in a normally horizontal direction. Horizontal or lateral swinging movement of upper base 62 about pivot screw 63, is brought about by means of horizontal or lateral adjusting screw 61, threaded in arm 35, and extending outwardly through an outwardly and downwardly extending projection 68, integrally formed with respect to upper base 62 near the rear end thereof. Screw 81 is reduced 'toforma shoulder 59, bearing against the inner face of the projection 68, and to form a cylin drical stem Hi, passing through the projection 68, through click spring 1i, and into head 12. Screw 6?, click spring El, and head 12 are substantially identical to screw 45, click spring 52, and head 53, and need not be described herein in detail. The projection 68 is spaced from the outer face of arm 35, a distance sufficient to take care of any necessary amount of lateral adjustment.

Extending through opening 13, in arm 34, and threaded into plate 28, near the rear end thereof, is a clamp screw 14, the head '15 of which bears against the arm 34, to force the latter into tight contact with the plate 23. Opening 14 is elongated in a vertical direction, as shown in Fig. 10, to permit the arm 34 to swing on pivot screw 38. A similar clamp screw 16 passes through opening 11, in upper base 62, and is threaded into arm 31, the opening 11, in upper base 62, being elongated transversely to permit swinging movement of the upper base 62 about pivot screw 63.

Integrally formed with respect to and extending inwardly and upwardly from upper base 62, at the opposite ends thereof, are semi-cylindrical telescope sight seats 18 and 79, in which telescope 2! is received, the telescope being held against movement by clamps and iii.

The upper base 82, in the embodiment shown, is relatively shorter than the lower base 34, to provide clearance for the elevation adjusting screw head 53, and is cut away at 82, to expose a part of the upper base, graduations 83 being inscribed on the part of the base thus exposed, the cut away portion 82 leaving a sloping surface 34, on which a reference line 85 is inscribed. The arm 35, of lower base 34, is cut away at 83, to expose part of a plate 28, on which graduations 81 are inscribed, the arm 35 having a face 88 sloping inwardly towards the plate 28 and on which a reference line 89.is inscribed. The distance between each line of the graduations B3 and 8? is such that one complete turn of screws 45 and 61 will move the upper or lower bases a distance equal to, the distance between the lines of the graduations. The screw heads 53 and 72 are graduated, as at 90 and BI, to faci1itate the adjustment of the mounting, the number of grooves 36, in the under side of each screw head, being such that fractional movement between the graduations on the screw heads may be brought about. The adjustment of the improved mounting will be readily understood from the foregoing description but will now be more fully set forth.

The telescope sight is placed in the seats '78 and 19 and clamped against movement. Clamping screw 14 may be loosened slightly, to permit movement of the lower base 34 on plate 28, and the telescope elevated or depressed, to bring the cross hairs, or other sighting part of the reticule into alignment with the point of impact of the rifle, by rotation of screw head -53,'and thus screw '35, in the proper direction. In order to indicate the proper direction of movement of the screw 45, a direction arrow 92 is inscribed in the upper surface 93, of screw head 53, movement of the screw head in the direction indicated producing upward movement of the rear end of the upper and lower bases, as indicated by the word up, also inscribed on the screw head. The screw 45 is fixed against movement in the direction of its axis in lower base arm 31, the thrust of the screw,

on cylindrical nut 48, producing the swinging movement of the lower base.

Preferably the pitch of the threads of screw is such that movement of the screw head 53, corresponding to the distance between two of the adjacent grooves (iii, will produce a change between the point of aim and the point of impact a relatively small distance, for example, a distance of one inch at a range of 100 yards. During the rotation of the screw 45, the rib 59, of the click spring 52, enters each groove 60 with a clicking sound, some additional pressure being required to rotate the screw head to force the rib 59 out of the groove 50. After the elevation of the telescope has been brought into proper adjustment, the clamp screw M may be tightened to hold the lower base 34 and plate 28 against further relative movement.

Lateral adjustment is brought about by loosening clamp screw 15 slightly and rotating screw ii, in one or the other direction, the screw 6! being fixed against axial movement in projection es and by its thrust on arm 35 producing swinging movement of upper base 62 about pivot screw 63. An arrow 94 is inscribed on the screw head outer surface 9-5, together with the letter L, movement of screw head 12, and thus the screw 6'5, in the direction of the arrow, producing movement of the rear end of the telescope towards the left. The screw head 12 is graduated at 9|, in a manner similar to screw head 53, and is provided with grooves on its under side which co-operate with the click spring H, in a manner similar to the grooves 60 and click spring 52 of screw 45. Upon adjustment of the mounting laterally, the screw 16 is tightened to lock the upper and lower bases against further relative movement. Graduations 83 and 81, on, the arm 31 of lower base 34, and on the plate 28, serve as guides to the shooter, during the adjustment of the mounting and, in connection with the graduations on the screw heads 53 and I2, permit the shooter to restore the mounting to proper adjustment once this adjustment has been determined.

In case it is desired to remove the telescope from the rifle, the screws 38 and M are removed and the upper and lower bases 34 and 62, together with the telescope 21, may be freely separated from the plate 28, the nut 48 sliding laterally out of opening 49. It will be noted that the clamp screw 16 remains tightly in place, thus preventing relative movement of the upper and lower bases, while movement of cylindrical nut 48 is prevented by contact of face or end 55 thereof with the inner surface of arm 35 of lower base 34. Elevation screw 45 is held against movement by the rib 59, of the click spring 52, and one of grooves 60.

The upper and lower bases of the mounting together with the telescope sight are reassembled on the plate 28 by movement laterally towards the plate 28 to bring the cylindrical nut 48 into plate opening 49, and by the reassembly of screws 38 and I4 whereupon, as the adjustments of screws 45 and 61 have not been disturbed, the telescope will be found to be in its former position of adjustment. Thus the principal parts of the mount together with the telescope supported thereon may be disassembled and assembled on plate 28, after the original adjustment thereof, without the necessity of further adjustment. When the upper and lower bases, together with the telescope sight are removed, there remains on the rifle simply the plate 28, which as shown in Fig. 7, is relatively low and will not interfere with the usual metallic sights nor the packing of the rifle in a gun case or the like.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A mounting for telescope sight for riiiies and the like comprising, a plate adapted to be secured on a part of a rifle, a base mounted on said plate for pivotal movement in a normally vertical plane, means for supporting a telescope sight on said base, and means for producing vertical movement of the base including, a screw mounted for rotation in said base and fixed against movement therein in the direction of the screw axis, and a cylindrical nut in which said screw is threaded, said plate having a cylindrical opening in which the nut is received, the axis of the opening being at right angles to the direction of movement of the base.

2. A mounting for telescope sights for rifles and the like comprising, a plate adapted to be secured on a part of a rifle, a base mounted for pivotal movement in a normally vertical direction on said plate, means for supporting a telescope sight on said base, and means for producing vertical pivotal movement of the base including, a screw mounted for rotation in said base and fixed against movement therein in the direction of the screw axis and a nut in which said screw is threaded, said plate having an opening extending transversely therethrough at right angles to the direction of movement of the base, the nut being received in the opening.

3. A mounting for telescope sights for rifles and the like comprising, an attaching plate adapted to be secured on a part of a rifle, a base, means for supporting a telescope sight on the base, detachable means for mounting the base on the plate for pivotal movement in a normally vertical direction, and means carried by said base and engaging the plate to effect positive relative pivotal motion of the base in upward and downward directions, said means including an element normally carried within an opening in the plate, said element together with the base being freely separable from the plate as a unit upon removal of the detachable means.

4:. A mounting for telescope sights for rifles and the like comprising, an attaching plate adapted to be secured on a part of a rifle, a base, means for supporting a telescope sight on the base, detachable means for mounting the base on the plate for pivotal movement in a normally vertical plane, a vertical screw rotatably mounted in said base, means for holding the screw against movement in the base in the direction of the screw axis, said screw extending downwardly into an opening in the plate, the plate opening being generally cylindrical with its aXis at right angles to the direction of movement of the base and extending transversely outwardly through the plate, and a cylindrical nut threaded on the screw and fitting and received in said opening, the base together with the screw and nut being freely separable from the plate by movement in a direction transversely away from the plate in the direction of the axis of the cylindrical openingupon removal of the detachable means.

5. A mounting for telescope sights for rifles and the like comprising, an attaching plate I r r l,

adapted to be secured on a part of a rifle, a base, means for supporting a telescope sight on the base, detachable means for mounting the base on the plate for pivotal movement in a normally vertical plane, means carried by said base and engaging the plate for eifecting vertical pivotal movement of the base on the plate, said last named means comprising a screw carried by the base and a nut carried within an opening in the plate, said screw and nut and base being freely separable from the plate as a unit upon removal of the detachable means, and said nut having a flat face engaging a part of the base to be held against rotational movement when the base and plate are separated.

6. A mounting for telescope sights for rifles and the like comprising, an attaching plate adapted to be secured on a part of a rifle, a base, means for supporting a telescope sight on the base, detachable means for mounting the base on the plate for pivotal movement in a normally vertical plane, a vertical screw rotatably mounted in said base, means for holding the screw against movement in the base in the direction of the screw axis, said screw extending downwardly into an opening in the plate, the plate opening being generally cylindrical with its axis at right angles to the direction of movement of the base, and a cylindrical nut threaded on the screw and fitting and received in the opening, the base together with the screw and nut being freely separable from the plate by movement in a direction transversely away from the rifle and plate upon removal of the detachable means, one of the ends of the nut engaging a part of the base to be held against rotation on the screw upon separation of the base and plate.

'7. In a telescope sight mounting for a rifle or the like, an attaching plate having a normally vertical horizontally elongated outer face, a lower base including a normally vertical horizontal- 1y elongated arm fitting against the outer face of the plate and a normally horizontal arm extending inwardly above the plate, means for mounting the base on the plate for pivotal movement on the outer face thereof, an upper base mounted for horizontal pivotal movement on the horizontal arm of the lower base, means for supporting a telescope sight on the upper base, said plate and lower base extending horizontally beyond the upper base at one of the ends thereof, an elevation screw supported in the horizontal arm of the lower base beyond the end of the upper base, and means in which the screw is threaded associated with the plate to efiect relative vertical movement of the base upon the plate on rotation of the screw, said bases, screw and last named means being detachable from said plate as a unit.

FREDERICK A. KUI-IN. 

